World War II
World War II (Second World War) was the second all-Earth war of all the great powers of the 20th century and represents the largest and most lossy conflict in human history to date. It is the only war in which both atomic, biological and chemical weapons have been used. * [[Timeline of events over the period of World War II|'Timeline' of events over the period of World War II]] vfhf History of World War II Raid on Poland With the Polish campaign the National Socialist German Reich unleashed the Second World War in Europe. This war of aggression in violation of international law is often described in Germany as a raid on Poland, in Poland as the September campaign (Kampania wrześniowa) or the war of defiance in 1939 (Wojna obronna 1939 roku). It began on 1 September 1939 without prior declaration of war with the invasion of the German Wehrmacht in Poland and ended on 6 October with the surrender of the last Polish field troops, but not the exiled Polish government. On September 3, 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany as part of their support agreements with Poland. But they only opened up minimal military activity that did not bring any real relief to Poland. According to the secret additional protocol to the German-Soviet non-aggression pact of 24 August 1939, the Red Army marched into eastern Poland on 17 September. This Soviet occupation of eastern Poland is sometimes included in the term "Polish campaign". 1 During the course of the war and under the German occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945, Einsatzgruppen of the Security Police and the SD and members of the Wehrmacht carried out systematic and sometimes spontaneous mass murders of Polish intellectuals, priests, trade unionists, nobility 2 and Jews. This is considered the "prelude to the war of annihilation," as he was led two years later in the war against the Soviet Union, and the Shoa. The campaign in the west On 10.5.1940 the campaign began in the west. Hitler invaded France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The invasion happened very fast. Once again, paratroopers were in action, taking important strategic points and fortresses. With several thousand tanks and airplanes, this should also be a blitzkrieg. Prior to the African campaign Erwin Rommel was involved in this invasion. British-French defensive attempts in Belgium were unsuccessful. The Maginot line to break was heavy, but part of the army made its way across Belgium. Especially the Ardennes were easy to cross. According to the French strategists, it would take a long time for the Germans to cross the Meuse, but that was not the case and the French were unprepared for such a rapid attack. The Netherlands were heavily bombed and eventually had to surrender. Winston Churchill went to Paris to see the situation but it was not good. Slowly they were preparing for a cast of Paris. The French Commander-in-Chief could not oppose that. Daladier's successor Reynaud appointed Philippe Pétain as his successor. The Germans then headed west and reached the English Channel on 21.5.1940. The French suspected that Paris is the destination. The British troops were cut off from their supplies. The British and French had to retreat ever further. Eventually they landed in the important French port of Dunkirk. Here was an evacuation of the British troops prepared, because if the Germans from Belgium Dunkirk storm so many British soldiers would go into German captivity. British soldiers supported Belgium so the rest had enough time to evacuate. This evacuation in Dunkirk was fraught with many risks because theoretically the British were at the mercy of the Germans. Nevertheless, Belgium had to capitulate on 28.5.1940. Before Dunkirk the German tanks had problems because these are wetlands. The Air Force now had to attack the British, but the Royal Air Force successfully fended off these attacks. Also many Frenchmen could be evacuated to prepare for the counterattack. Hitler was able to continue the campaign in France without much opposition. The British withheld their support because they did not want to weaken their own defense. On 15.6.1940 finally Paris was taken. They tried to involve the US in the war but they remained neutral. The bad memories of the 1st World War spoke against a war entry. Nevertheless, the US supplied the Allies with much war material. Even before that, the French government fled. Mussolini also wanted to benefit from it and also declared war on France. On 22.6.1940 Pétain negotiated with Hitler that he we Kategorie:History